IRVINE, Calif. - Azusa Pacific held on for an 11-10 win at Concordia on Tuesday night, as the non-conference win improves the Cougars' overall record to 27-17. The Cougars won four of the six games that they played against Concordia this season, as the two teams played a four-game conference series, which they split 2-2, and they played a home-and-away pair of non-conference games, which Azusa Pacific won both.

How It Happened: At the end of the top half of the third inning, it looked as if the Cougars were likely to walk away with a comfortable victory, as they put up seven runs in the third for a 7-1 lead. In the inning, Azusa Pacific scored seven runs on four hits, including an RBI single from Cade Marshman and a two RBI single from Brett Soria, while capitalizing on three errors committed by the Golden Eagles. 

The Cougars would extend the lead to 10-1 in the top of the sixth, as Marshman hit a solo home run for his third homer of the season, while David Hays and George Christison each delivered RBI singles in the frame. 

The Golden Eagles would kick-start their comeback in the bottom of the seventh, bringing in seven runs on just three hits, as the Cougar pitching staff walked four batters and the defense committed an error. After the Cougars were held scoreless in the top of the eighth, Concordia would tie the game at 10-10 in the bottom half, by way of a lead-off homerun and a wild pitch.

With one away in the top of the ninth, Christision hit a single and Jeffrey Castillo stepped to the plate. During Castillo's at-bat, Christison advanced to second on a wild pitch, and then stole third. Castillo would drive Christison in as the eventual game-winning run, as Castillo doubled to left field.

In the bottom of the ninth, Cougar pitcher Cameron Kessel retired the first two hitters he faced in the frame, but back-to-back Golden Eagles delivered base hits to put runners at first and second. Kessel would get out of danger and earn the victory on the mound, as he froze Calvin Schonebaum for a strikeout looking to end the game.

Kessel is now 2-2 this season, as he pitched two innings and struck out two hitters. Azusa Pacific used six pitchers in the game, as Michael Gill started the game and threw four innings without surrendering an earned run, and he then passed the ball off to Joey Frey, who pitched two innings of scoreless baseball. Brendon Cannings, Taylor Ouellette, and Alfredo Frey each threw a third of an inning.

Christison drove in a game-high three RBI, as he finished 2-for-5 and also scored two runs. Marshman (2-for-4), Hays (2-for-5) and Soria (2-for-5) each added two RBI, with Marshman and Hays each scoring two runs. Tido Robles also had a multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-5 with a double and scoring two runs.

 Up Next: The Cougars will close out the regular season with a four game home series against Academy of Art, which will start this Thursday, April 20, with a 5:00 pm game. The two teams will then play a doubleheader on Friday starting at 1:00 pm, and close out the series on Saturday, with a single game at noon. Prior to Saturday's game, 11 players will be honored in a pregame Senior Day ceremony, as it will be their final time playing a regular season game at the Cougar Baseball Complex. The players that will be honored are Brendan Dixon, Taylor Ouellette, Tyus Santa Anna, Daniel Genna, Tido Robles, Will Stroud, Casey O'Laughlin, Brett Soria, Steven Silvas, Michael Gill, Korey Shepard.